Latest official customs statistics released by China yesterday reveal tin ore imports from Myanmar in January soared to an all-time record of 72,436 tonnes (gross weight), a 239% year-on-year increase. The figure also represents a 66% rise from the 43,531 tonnes imported in December.
Current understanding is that the increase was a result of two key factors, the first being that production from a new mining area in Myanmar’s Wa County has increased. It is believed that 70 – 80% of Myanmar’s January tin ore exports to China originated from this new site, which began shipping unprocessed ore grading 7 – 8% tin in the second half of 2015, offsetting declines in the original production area in Wa, which has been extensively exploited over the last two years.
The second factor is the rally in China’s domestic tin price in the second half of January, which encouraged export of producer stockpiles of tin ore kept in warehouses in the border town of Pangkham. It is understood that these warehouse are now nearly empty and therefore that stockpile sales will be unable to provide the same support to export volumes going forward.
ITRI View: Based on a tin grade of 12%, the content of Myanmar’s January tin ore exports to China can be estimated at 8,000 to 9,000 tonnes of tin metal. This made Myanmar the world’s largest tin exporting country in January, with Indonesia exporting 2,486 tonnes of refined tin in the same month for comparison. China’s total annual tin imports from Myanmar last year amounted to 285,593 tonnes of ore, accounting for 98% of the country’s total ore imports.
